Pallet



Nov. 9, 1965 D. E. ANDERSON ETAL 3,216,376

PALLET Filed Dec. 15, 1961 IN V EN TORS' DONALD E. ANDEQQON BYDONALD E.CHQISTENSEN W W United States Patent 3,216,376 PALLET Donald E.Anderson, Tacoma, Wash, and Donald E.

Christensen, Marshfield, Wis., assignors to Weyerhaeuser Company,Tacoma, Wash, a corporation of Washington Filed Dec. 15, 1961, Ser. No.159,700 9 Claims. (Ci. Mitt-56) This invention relates to a shippingpallet which may be assembled and disassembled easily so that it willoccupy a minimum amount of space when not in use.

The normal practice in present day material handling is to place thematerial on a lift truck pallet so that a greater quantity of materialmay be handled at one time, thus reducing the unit material handlingcost. Usually these pallets are of wood construction since wood is amaterial that is economical and has good load-bearing characteristics.To realize maximum economy, the pallets are reused a number of timesrequiring, in many instances, that a carload of empty pallets bereturned to the shipping point. The costs of this return transportationare high because these costs are fixed at the potential weight that canbe carried by the car rather than the actual Weight of the pallets.

These return transportation costs may be eliminated by using anexpendable pallet. This type of pallet, which is destroyed after asingle use, utilizes corrugated board for all, or at least the majorportion, of its component parts, and quite often utilizes wooden blocksfor the loadbearing members. One of the drawbacks to this type of palletis its high unit cost caused by its single use. Another drawback is thediificulty of assembling and disassembling the pallet if reuse isattempted.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a shipping palletor" the expendable type which may be reused a number of times.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a shipping palletwhich may be assembled and disassembled easily and which will occupy aminimum amount of space when not in use.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a shipping palletwhich may be assembled and disassembled easily without the use ofadditional fastening members.

It is another object of this invention to provide a shipping pallet ofthe expendable type having reinforcing channel-shaped weight-bearingmembers.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a shipping pallethaving weight-bearing members which may be placed fiat when not in useand may be formed into a channeLshaped configuration in the assembledpallet.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a pallet in whichthe weight-bearing members are braced by transverse members.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a shipping pallet ofthe expendable type in which the weightbearing members of the pallet arebraced into a channel configuration by transverse members.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a shippingpallet of the expendable type in which the weightbearing members alsoserve as a guide for the forks on a lift truck.

These and other objects of this invention will become readily apparentupon a reading of the following specification in conjunction with theattached drawings.

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of a blank for the weightbearing member.

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of a blank for the corrugated boardtransverse member.

FIGURE 3 is an isometric view with portions cut away showing the methodof assembling the pallet and details of the bracing of the pallet.

FIGURE 4 is an isometric view of the assembled pallet.

The present invention, shown in FIGURE 4, proposes a shipping pallet ofthe expendable type which may be used a number of times and in which apair of channelshaped, weight-bearing members 119 are held in apredetermined, spaced relationship by a pair of corrugated boardtransverse members 120. It further proposes a shipping pallet 10th ofthe expendable type in which the normally fiat weight-bearing membersare confined in their channel-shaped configuration by the transversemembers 120. No additional fastening members are needed for theconstruction of the pallet. Thus, the pallet is constructed so that itmay be placed in a flat condition when not in use. Since thedisassembled fiat pallet requires only a fraction of the space requiredby the assembled pallet, its unit cost for storage and returntransportation is at a minimum because of its smaller spacerequirements.

This space requirement difference is demonstrated in FIGURES 1 and 3.FIGURE 1, which shows the blank 1% of weight-bearing member 110 with itstop face extending into the page, may also be considered as a view ofweight-bearing member 110 in its disassembled flat condition. Asimplied, in this condition member 110, having a pair of legs 11 hingedlyconnected at 12 to an upper wall 13, is fiat, and the legs 11 are in thesame plane as wall 13. However, in the assembled pallet, shown in FIGURE3, member lit is channel shaped with legs 11 being normal to wall 13 sothat member 110 may act as a guide for the fork of a lift truck and legs11 may support the load on the pallet. If member 110 were to be storedin this latter configuration, the space encompassed by the channel wouldbe wasted and for this reason it is desirable to utilize such space byplacing member 110 in a flat condition when not in use.

In order to flatten member 110 easily, it is necessary to have a hingedjoint 12. The construction of this joint will depend in great part onthe type of material used. The preferred material, and the oneillustrated, is a woodpaper laminate having a wood veneer core facedwith sheets of kraft paper. However, it is permissible to use othertypes of core materials and other typs of facing materials. It is alsopermissible to use a single material having taped hinge joints. It isrequired that one of the materials used have good load-bearingcharacteristics. With the preferred wood-paper laminate material, thehinge joints 12 are formed by extending V grooves, normally having sidesextending at a 45 angle to the plane of the blank, through the veneerand one of the outer faces, and allowing the other paper face to formthe hinge. The hinge 12 allows member 110 to be changed between its flatconfiguration and its channel-shaped configuration a number of times, soit is desirable that no internal fastening members, such as nails, beused to hold member 110 in its channel-shaped configuration. Thereforeit is preferred that external bracing members he used to retain member110 in its channel-shaped configuration within pallet ltlil.

This is one of the functions of transverse member 120. This member isformed from a blank 20, shown in FIG- URE 2, which is divided by scorelines 21, 22, 23, and 24 into an outer first end wall section 30, a topwall 40, a second end wall 50, a bottom wall 60, and an inner first endwall section 70. There are a number of flaps formed in the end walls andthe top wall to space and brace channel-shaped members 110.

As shown in FIGURE 3, members 110 are inserted into member 121 throughapertures 35 of first end Wall St). The Wall is formed by first end Wallsections 30 and '70, and its apertures 85 are formed by the internalbracing elements 73 in end wall section 70 and the bracing flaps 33 and35 in end wall section 39.

As may be seen in FIGURE 2, the inner bracing flaps 33 of end wallsection 30 are hingedly connected to a central glue flap 31 along scorelines 32, and the outer bracing flaps 35 are hinge-dly connected to apair of outer glue flaps 37 along score lines 36. It is preferred thatbracing flaps 33 and 35 abut each other along slit 34 and abut top wall4% along a slit in score line 21.

Flaps 33 and 35 extend into the assembled transverse member 120, FIGURE3, through inner slots 72 and outer slots 77 of end wall section '70 toform the side walls of aperture 85. Slots '72 and 7'7, which separatethe internal bracing elements 73 from the central glue flap 71 and theouter glue flaps 78, are as wide as the combined thickness of a flap, 33or 35, and a leg 11 of member 110 so that both a flap and a leg 11 maypass through each slot in the assembled pallet.

During the assembly of transverse member 120, the central glue flaps 71and 31 are adhered together forming a central section 81, and the outerglue flaps 78 and 37 are adhered together forming outer sections 82 offirst end wall 80 of transverse member 120. This member may, like member110, be placed in flat condition when not in use by placing the flaps 33and 35 and the elements 73 in the planes of their respective wallsections and flattening the tubular member 120 along either score lines21 and 23, or 22 and 24.

The flaps 33 and 35 and the elements 73 have, in addition to theirfunction of providing an aperture in the transverse member 119, anadditional function of bracing members 119 and 120. For this latterpurpose, each internal bracing element 73 fits snugly within and locksfrictionally between legs 11 of a channel-shaped member 116 to space andbrace the lower sections of legs 11 in each member 110. To facilitatethe internal placement and frictional locking of element 73 withinchannelshaped member 110, each element '73 is divided into a lowersection 74 and an upper section 76 by a score line 75 which ispreferably parallel to score line 24. Thus, element '73 may be bent,along score lines 24 and 76, inwardly of member 110 into the positionshown in FIGURE 3. In this position, it is beyond its apex and will notspring back to its original position after frictionally locking againstthe inner faces of legs 11.

The legs 11 are prevented from rotating outwardly of member 110 by theexternal bracing of central and outer wall sections 81 and 82 and theirassociated flaps 33 and 35 which form the aperture 35. This aperture isthe size of a channel-shaped member 110, and, therefore, holds themember 110 in its channel-shaped configuration and prevents legs 11 fromrotating outwardly. The inner legs 11 of the two members 110 are alsoheld in place by top wall flaps 41 and 43. These last-mentioned flapsare formed centrally of top wall 40, are hingedly connected to top wall40 along score lines 42 and 44, which are preferably parallel to scorelines 21 and 22, and are of a width such that they fit frictionallybetween the pair of members 110.

The bracing of member 110 is in conjunction with the bracing of member120. For this latter purpose, flaps 33 and 35, which fit frictionallybetween the top and bottom walls, and flaps 41 and 43 serve as spacerelements between top and bottom walls 40 and 60 of member 120. Toperform this function, flaps 33 and 41 are, in the preferred form,shaped and spaced, so as to form a hexahedronal box beam member 90.Thus, each slit 34, defining the outer side edge of each flap 33, slantsdiagonally so that flap 33 forms a trapezoid having its base edge 38adjacent top wall 40; and score line 42 of flap 41 is spaced from scoreline 21 a distance equal to the length of base edge 38. Thisconstruction allows flap 41 to bend inwardly beyond its apex until itabuts the outer side edge of flap 33 and to lock frictionally againstbottom wall 60. The hexahedronal box beam member 90 thus formed by flaps33 and flap 41, wall section 81 and walls 40 and 6t) braces both the topand bottom walls 40 and 4 60 of member 120 and the legs ofweight-bearing members 110.

Members are also braced internally by flaps 53 and 55 in end wall 50.Flaps 53, which are hinged to a central wall section 51 along score line52, and flaps 55, which are hinged to the outer wall sections 57 alongscore lines 56, extend internally of member 110 in the finished pallet,and lock frictionally against the inner faces of bottom wall 60 andupper wall 13. Since these flaps extend internally rather thanexternally of members 11!), score lines 52 and 56 are aligned with theinner faces of legs 11. The ends of legs 11 are braced internally byfiaps 53 and 55 and externally by flap 4-3.

As may be seen, members 110 are completely braced into their channelshaped by members in the assembled pallet, and are not braced whenremoved from the pallet so that they may be fiat when stored. Thischange between the channel shape and the flat shape of member 110 may beaccomplished a number of times because the hinge joints 12 are notnailed or otherwise fixed in place.

While specific details of a preferred embodiment has been set forthabove, it will be apparent that many changes and modifications may bemade therein without departing from the spirit of the invention. It willtherefore be understood that what has been described herein is intendedto be illustrative only, and is not intended to limit the scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:

1. A pallet comprising a pair of channel-shaped weight-bearing membershaving downwardly extending legs hingedly connected and substantiallyperpendicular to an upper wall,

a transverse member extending over said weight-bearing members, spacingsaid weight-bearing members and preventing inward and outward rotationof said legs with respect to said upper wall,

said transverse member comprising top and bottom walls having end wallsextending therebetween,

said weight-bearing members extending through apertures in an end wallof said transverse member,

said transverse member having a panel extending inwardly of saidweight-bearing member preventing inward rotation of said legs.

2. A pallet comprising a pair of channel-shaped weight-bearing membershaving downwardly extending legs hingedly connected to an upper wall,

a transverse member extending over said weight-bearing members, spacingsaid Weight-bearing members and preventing inward and outward rotationof said legs with respect to said upper wall,

said transverse member comprising top and bottom walls having end wallsextending therebetween,

said weight-bearing members extending through apertures in end wall ofsaid transverse member,

and a flap hingedly connected to said top wall extending between saidWeight-bearing members.

3. The pallet of claim 2 in which a pair of trapezoidal flaps arehingedly connected to said end wall adjacent to the inner edges of saidapertures and extend into said transverse member,

each of said trapezoidal flaps having its base adjacent said top wall.

4. The pallet of claim 3 in which said bases extend to r the hingedconnection of one of said top wall flaps.

5. A pallet comprising a pair of channel-shaped weight-bearing membershaving downwardly extending legs hingedly connected and substantiallyperpendicular to an upper wall,

a pair of transverse members extending over opposite ends of saidweight-bearing members, spacing said weight-bearing members andpreventing inward and outward rotation of said legs with respect to saidupper wall,

5 said transverse member comprising top and bottom walls having innerand outer walls extending therebetween, said weight-bearing membersextending through apertures in the inner end walls of said transversemembers,

and said transverse member having a panel extending between the legs ofeach of said Weight-bearing members to prevent inward rotation of saidlegs.

6. The pallet of claim 5 in which each transverse member has trapezoidalflaps hingedly connected to said inner end walls adjacent the inner edgeof said apertures and extending inwardly of said transverse members,

and a flap hingedly connected to said top wall extending inwardly ofsaid transverse member and abutting the inner edges of the trapezoidalflaps.

7. The pallet of claim 6 in which each transverse member has pairs offlaps hingedly connected to said outer end wall and extending inwardlyof said weight-bearing members between said bottom wall and said upperwall.

8. The pallet of claim 1 in which said panel is bisectional.

9. The pallet of claim 5 in which said panel is bisectional.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,958,494 11/60Lovegreen 248-120 3,000,603 9/61 Hermann 10856 3,012,747 12/61 Greene248l20 15 FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner.

FRANK L. ABBOTT, Examiner.

1. A PALLET COMPRISING A PAIR OF CHANNEL-SHAPED WEIGHT-BEARING MEMBERSHAVING DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING LEGS HINGEDLY CONNECTED AND SUBSTANTIALLYPERPENDICULAR TO AN UPPER WALL, A TRANSVERSE MEMBER EXTENDING OVER SAIDWEIGHT-BEARING MEMBERS, SPACING SAID WEIGHT-BEARING MEMBERS ANDPREVENTING INWARD AND OUTWARD ROTATION OF SAID LEGS WITH RESPECT TO SAIDUPPER WALL, SAID TRANSVERSE MEMBER COMPRISING TOP AND BOTTOM WALLSHAVING END WALLS EXTENDING THEREBETWEEN, SAID WEIGHT-BEARING MEMBERSEXTENDING THROUGH APERTURES IN AN END WALL SAID TRANSVERSE MEMBER, SAIDTRANSVERSE MEMBER HAVING A PANEL EXTENDING INWARDLY OF SAIDWEIGHT-BEARING MEMBER PREVENTING INWARD ROTATION OF SAID LEGS.